A Dream Shared Is Better Than A Dream Hidden
by NinjaDevil2000
Summary: What if Edmund and Caspian had explained their nightmares to each other during their voyage upon the Dawn Treader? How would Caspian react to Edmund's story?


Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia or its characters. Those belong to the wonderful and talented mind of C. S. Lewis.

 _"Edmund! Edmund!" Come with me! Join me!" "_ Edmund!" Lucy was standing over his hammock in the quarters Edmund shared with Caspian. Lucy looked slightly startled as Edmund realized that he had brandished his sword at his vision of Jadis.

"I can't sleep," Lucy said. With a start, Caspian awoke as well.

"Let me guess," Edmund said glancing at Lucy and Caspian, "bad dreams?" Both Lucy and Caspian nodded.

"So either we're all going mad, or something's playing with our minds." Edmund said, laying down again, clutching his sword tightly before sheathing it again. A moment later Lucy found herself in the hammock next to Edmund, feeling comforted again. She would do this with Peter when she was younger, but now that she's older she hardly ever does it with him anymore, let alone with Edmund. Caspian and Edmund glanced at each other briefly before turning in their hammocks and settling in to attempt to find the protection of sleep again.

The next morning Lucy recounted her dream to Edmund, feeling ashamed but knowing she would feel better one she had talked about it with her brother. Edmund had always been a great listener after so many years in court during the Golden Age, when Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy had reigned as Kings and Queens. He listened to her as she explained her dream and once she was finished, spoke in a slightly incredulous, but gentle tone, "I think you are one of the most beautiful people I know, my Queen."

"You're just saying that because you're my brother," Lucy said.

"Okay, fine. Maybe you're not as beautiful as Susan but that's not what matters. What matters is who you are on the inside, and I know that you, Queen Lucy the Valiant of the Glistening Eastern Sea is a wonderful person. Otherwise, why would Aslan have chosen you?" He smiled to let her know he was kidding and at this, she playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Thanks Ed, that means a lot to me." She wandered off to visit with Gale, leaving Edmund to go into the cabin and examine their position. A few moments later Caspian entered as well. He nodded to Edmund, before looking down at the charts to decipher the maps as well.

"Something wrong?" Edmund asked, for Caspian had a troubled look upon his face.

"No. What about you?" Caspian asked seeing that Edmund had a similar look upon his own face. Knowing that Caspian would not elaborate until Edmund did, he said, "Nightmares."

"I as well have been experiencing them." Caspian seemed as though he wished to be left alone with his own thoughts, so Edmund turned about to go out on to the deck with Drinian. He was surprised when Caspian asked, "What are yours about?"

He turned back. "You first," he said leaning up against the wall of the cabin. Caspian breathed deeply and then said, "My father. I keep imagining that he's disappointed in me, and that he doesn't think I'm good enough to be King and then it makes me wonder if I really am good enough to be King." He glanced up at Edmund to see him looking at him.

"I'm sorry. That sounds hard," said Edmund, looking slightly preoccupied. "What about you, Ed?" asked Caspian.

"Oh no, it's fine," said Edmund.

"You sure?" asked Caspian. Edmund stayed silent. "Ed?" Caspian prompted. Edmund turned back to look at him. "Caspian, how much do you know about our first time in Narnia?"

"Not much. I know you defeated the White Witch and ended the winter, and then became Kings and Queens, but that's about it. Why?" Edmund hung his head sadly, silently praying that he would not begin crying, while he told the story.

"When Lucy first found Narnia, she was alone, and Peter, Susan, and I didn't believe her. I was the most stubborn, spiteful, beastly brat, and I would pick on Lucy and anyone else who was younger or weaker than me. I was worse than Eustace. Keep in mind I was only about 11."

Caspian watched his friend and fellow king curiously. Edmund sighed, "I was awful, and one night when Lucy came back into Narnia, to meet up with her friend, Mr. Tumnus, I followed her here. When I was there, I met the Witch, and she tricked me. She told me that she would make me a King, and that I would be powerful, and so of course, I talked with her and told her I would bring my family to her." Edmund then noticed how badly his voice was shaking, and took a few deep, calming breaths.

"After that, I kept it all to myself. I didn't tell anybody about meeting her, and when all four of us got into Narnia later, I tried to take them to the White Witch. Then we learned of Mr. Tumnus being captured by the Witch, and we met the beavers, and learned about Aslan. Then, I snuck out because I wanted to see _her_ again."

After telling Caspian, how he had gone to her and told her everything, he got to the hard part. "She . . . tortured me. She whipped me, and hit me. It was awful, and I still have the scars." Through all of this, Caspian had remained silent, gasping at regular intervals, when Edmund would reveal another part of his shocking story.

At this revelation, however, Caspian couldn't help walking over to Edmund, who was shivering slightly, and put a hand on his shoulder. This told Edmund, he could continue his story, without being judged. "Even after being forgiven by Aslan, and Lucy, and Susan, and Peter, I still can't seem to forgive myself. When we were here last time also, I thought I was rid of her, and then she almost came back. And now the mist . . . it just reminds me how much she did, and how it's all my fault." Caspian couldn't help but let a couple of tears fall from his own eyes, and quickly brushed them away. "Anyway," Edmund continued, "the nightmares are when I'm her prisoner, or when she's killing our troops, or when she almost killed Peter, or . . . when she killed me."

"What do you mean, she . . . killed you?" Caspian asked silently and incredulously.

"It was at the Battle of Beruna. Left and right, she was using her wand, to turn our troops into stone. Peter ordered me to leave, and take the girls back to our world, but I had other ideas," Edmund said with a chuckle.

"I decided that if I could destroy her wand, maybe we could win. So, I jumped in front of her, and my sword came smashing down on her wand." Caspian was in shock, thinking of an 11 year old boy, fighting a Witch. Caspian silently rebuked himself though, knowing that it was King Edmund the Just, he was thinking of.

Edmund continued, "I broke her wand, but then she . . . stabbed me with it." Edmund's hand subconsciously went to the place just above his left hip, where the scar was now hidden. Caspian noticed this, and realized that that must have been where she had stabbed him.

"Apparently, I was dead for a few seconds before Lucy's cordial worked. Next thing I remember was being hugged by Peter."

"I can't imagine what that like." Caspian remarked. After a few seconds of silence, Caspian came to a realization.

"Edmund, don't you see? You can beat her. You said she's always haunted you, but now that you're back, you have another chance to defeat her."

"What do you mean?" Edmund asked.

"You can beat her, by beating the mist. I mean," he said with a small, apologetic smile, "she only lives inside you, and it's just because of the mist that you're seeing her now. So, if you could beat the mist, maybe you could beat her."

At this, Edmund looked up, realization dawning upon his face. "You're right. I am seeing her because of the mist, so . . . no mist means ––– " "No witch!" Caspian finished.

Certain things finally made sense between the two Kings, who were so much like brothers. Edmund and Caspian both felt they understood each other better, and it hurt both of them deeply when they had to part ways at the end of their voyage. However, for the rest of their lives, they saw one another as brothers and best friends.


End file.
